Steam-engine.



PATENTED JULY 21, 1908. R. HAY. 1 STEAMENGINB. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 9,1907.

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ROBERT HAY, OF MOUNT PLEASANT, PENNSYLVANIA.

STE AM-ENGINE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 21, 1908.

Original application filed May 29, 1907, Serial No. 376,360. Divided and this application filed August 9, 1907.

Serial No. 387,870.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT HAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mount Pleasant, in the county of lVestmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Steam-Engine, of which the fol lowing is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in steam engines of the reciprocating type, and said invention is designed to pro- VlC e a steam motor particularly adapted for use in connection with the car dumping apparatus forming the subject-matter of my application No. 376,360, filed May 29, 1907, of which this application is a division.

In the apparatus for dumping cars the latter are caused to make a artial revolution on a longitudinal axis whife confined within a carrier which is turned to a sufficient extent to dump the cars and then returned to its initial position.

The engine constituting the subject of the present invention is designed to produce the necessary movements of the car carrier to cause the dumping of the cars, and comprises a steam cylinder within which is located a piston having piston-rods extending through both heads of the cylinder and there connected for operation to flexible cables or other power-transmitting devices which, in turn, are connected to the car dumping apparatus. I

The construction of the present invention is such that when the piston approaches the end of its travel in either direction its movement is slowly checked by an elastic cushion, so that shocks and ars to the structure are avoided. This becomes useful because of the large weights which are controlled by the engine and the liability of such structures, because of their inertia, to resist sudden stoppages. Furthermore, there is provided by the present invention means whereby the steam entering on one side of the piston may be used expansively by having the steam supply cut off at any desired point on the stroke of the piston while at the exhaust side of the piston the exhaust port may be fully open, thus ofiering no material resistance to the travel of the piston in the direction of the exhaust. This last condition is provided by adding to the slide valve a supplemental slide valve so arranged that when supplying steam to one end of the cylinder it may be made to cut oil the steam at any suitable point, while a similar supplemental slide mina s of a rope or cable system, with means for uniting these terminals, and also showing the improved steam engine included between the cable system terminals for actuating said cables Fig. 2 is a section, partly in elevation and partly broken away, of one end of the steam engine and Fig. 3 is a view showing the arrangement of tracks for supporting parts of the mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a power element comprising a steam cylinder 1 within which moves a piston 2 carrying piston rods 3 projecting from each side of the piston and extending through the cylinder heads 4 at the ends of the cylinder, the passages through these heads being rendered steam-tight by packing glands 5. At the outer end of each piston-rod, beyond the cylinder 1, is another piston 6 of such size as to fit quite snugly within an open pocket 7 secured to each cylinder head in the path of the corresponding piston 6.

The pocket 7 is finished quite true and the piston 6 is turned down to fit the same with v sufiicient accuracy so that when the piston enters the pocket the air confined therein can only escape slowly, and, therefore, acts as an air cushion.

Since the parts driven by the engine are of massive structure, and since there is no flywheel or crank on the engine to divert the di- 7 rection of motion, this air cushion is a feature of importance as it prevents shocks and strains which would be liable to occur should the motion of the piston not be gradually checked.

Each piston 6 is formed with a boss 8 to which the piston-rod may be connected by a key 9. At the front of the boss 8 there is formed an L extension 10 with downwardly projecting arms between which is journaled a roller 11 arranged to travel upon a track 12, so that the end of the piston-rod 3 together with the piston 6 and the structures fast thereon are properly supported as the piston-rod reciprocates. Attached to the extension 10 of the boss 8 is an eye coupling 13 on one end of a short rope or cable ,14, the other end of which is fast between links 15 secured at their other ends to a truck 16 carrying wheels 17 adapted to run upon tracks 18. Fast in the truck 16 are eye bolts 19, held in place by nuts 20 and connected to the ends of cables 21 extending to the car-dumping a paratus, which is not herein shown and w liich in itself forms no part of the present invention but which is shown and described in my aforesaid application. The other piston-rod is connected by means of an eye coupling 13 to a rope or cable 22 extending around a sheave 23 suitably journaled in a fixed portion of the structure which, however, is not shown, and at the other end of this rope or cable 22 are links 15 secured to a truck 16 carrying wheels 17 running upon tracks 18. This truck 16 carries eye bolts 19 connected to the other ends of the cables 21.

In order to prevent leakage of steam past the piston the packing on the latter is made of two outer juxtaposed rings 24 and another single wide ring 25 interior thereto. The ring 25 is split and has a tendency to open and the exterior packing rings 24 are also split and when the three rings are placed in position upon the piston the meeting edges are disposed in different radial planes so that no one is in close relation to any of the others. Now, when the exterior rings wear, the inner ring, because of its resiliency, will follow up the outer packing rings and prevent the escape of steam thereunder.

The cylinder is provided with a steam chest 26 at each end, into which enters a supply pipe 27, and each steam chest is provided with a slide valve 28 connected by a valve rod 29 to a common arm 30 rising from a rock-shaft 31 journaled about midway oi the cylinder upon a suitable support 32, and the rock-shaft 31 is under the control of a lever 33 which is designed to be operated by hand so that steam may be admitted to either end of the cylinder at will.

In the bottom of each steam chest are formed two ports 34 and 35. The port 34 leads to a pipe 36 communicating with the interior of the cylinder in front of the respective side of the piston 2 close to the corres onding cylinder head 4. The other port 35 eads to an exhaust opening 37.

Within each steam chest is a supplemental slide valve 38 having ports 39 spaced to open or close the ports 34 and 35 simultaneously. This supplemental slide valve 38 is formed with end flanges 40 to one of which is connected an operating rod 41. The main slide valve 28 is of the usual type and is made to ride upon and move for a distance independently of the supplemental slide valve.

The slide valve 28 controls the ports 39 only, while the supplemental slide valve controls the ports 34 and 35. Now, by suitably connecting up the rods 41 say to suitable hand-operated levers or otherwise, they may be operated independently of the piston-rods so as to cut oi? the steam supply at one end of the cylinder at any portion of the stroke in order that the steam may operate expansively, without the other sup lemental slide valve being affected, under'w ich conditions the supplemental slide valve at the exhaust end of the cylinder may be so located as to have the exhaust port fully opened to the exhaust end of the cylinder. When the piston has been moved to one end of the cylinder and the main slide valve is moved to the exhaust position the connections to the piston-rod may be such that the supplemental slide valve 38 previously moved to the cut-01f position, may be then moved to the full exhaust position, and by simply varying the position of the actuating member of the piston-rod the supplemental slide valve may be made to cut off the steam supply at any desired point and to always open the exhaust port when the piston starts to move in the opposite direction. This is all independent of the manually-operated slide valve 28, The connections for manually or otherwise actuating the valve-operating rods 41 have not been shown, since such connections will be at once apparent to the constructive engineer.

I claim 1. A reciprocatory power element comprising a power cylinder, a piston therein, piston rods connected to the piston and extending through each end of said cylinder, open ended air cushion pockets carried by the cylinder heads and through which the piston rods extend, other pistons one on each piston rod at the outer end thereof and timed to enter the respective pockets at each end of the power stroke, and traveling supports at the outer ends of the piston rods adjacent to the pistons designed to enter the air cushion pockets.

2. A reciprocatory power element comprising a power cylinder, a piston therein,

piston rods each connected to the piston and extending through the corresponding end of said cylinder, open ended air cushion pockets carried by the cylinder head and through which the piston rods extend, other pistons designed to enter the air cushion pockets and carried by the outer ends of the piston rods, roller supports also carried by the outer ends of the piston rods adjacent to the pistons thereon, and a track or support for each roller.

3. A reciprocatory power element comprising a steam cylinder, a piston therein, two piston rods extending therefrom in opposite directions through the corresponding ends of the cylinder, slide valves at each end of the cylinder controlling the steam and exhaust ports, means for simultaneously moving each slide valve one to admit steam to one end of the cylinder, While the other opens the other. end of the cylinder to the exhaust, means for cutting off the steam supply to one slide valve while maintaining the exhaust port at the other slide valve full open, open ended air cushion pockets on each cylinder head concentric with the respective piston rods, pistons carried by the outer ends of the piston rods and timed to enter the respective air cushions at the end of the power stroke of the main piston, traveling supports for the outer ends of the piston rods, and means carried by said supports for connecting the piston rods to the Work.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

ROBERT HAY.

Witnesses:

C. J. KLINE, PERCY B. RULE. 

